Session 1
Introduction The adventurers met in the town of Rowen, outside of the Whitehelm Manor, home of the late Elric von Whitehelm. After a brief (and awkward) introduction, the adventurers were greeted by Whitehelm's former housekeeper and assistant, Charleston Wentwick. Wentwick led them through the elegant estate to an expansive library and invited them to have a seat at a long wooden table. Here, the adventurers encountered Whitehelm's sons -- Aldric, the eldest son, and Hernok, the youngest son. The Whitehelm boys were none too happy to see the adventures and made no effort to hide their displeasure. Wentwick retrieved a sealed envelope containing the will, and read it aloud: "I hereby bequeath the following: one map of the city of Rowen to those who have aided me along the way. My properties may be divided amongst my surviving family members however they see fit." At the end of the reading, hot-tempered Aldric slammed a fist into the table, loudly questioning why a certain item was not included in the will and demanding that Wentwick tell him where his father hid the aforementioned item. He stormed out of the room, Hernok following closely behind. Wentwick handed Elric's map to the group. The adventurers had seen a map of Rowen upon entering the town, and were at first frustrated by the seemingly useless item. After spending some time as a group carefully examining the map, however, they discovered an extra location on Elric's map: #15, the Chetwind Bridge, with a note claiming it was "a nice place for a swim." The adventurers headed to the Chetwind Bridge, where Taargus took a literal leap of faith and jumped into the Azure River. He was able to spot two doors under the water on either side of the river. The group focused on the left door first, with Fausto eventually picking the lock and entering the room after a few attempts. The room was cave-like: it was dank and musty from years of water seepage, and was empty except for a ladder at the far end leading up to a ledge, with a Dire rat blocking the way to the ladder. The adventurers fought the angry rodent, and Twitch was able to scurry up the ladder first to open the chest on the ledge and take the amulet contained within. The group then swam over to the door on the right side of the waterway, and again Fausto was able to let them in. The room appeared to have been used as a storage area at some point in the recent past: the space was cluttered, strewn with discarded items, crates filled with useless personal trinkets, etc. Two giant rats had been living amongst the rubble, but the adventurers swiftly got rid of them, with Lady Caraga dealing the killing blows. They discovered a chest in the back of the room, containing a flute, a stone, a yellow flower, and an icicle that wouldn't melt. Taking their items with them, they headed back to town. Their first stop was the Whitehelm Manor, to see if either Wentwick or one of the Whitehelm brothers could make sense of the items they found. They spoke to Wentwick and Hernok, but weren't able to get much information: mainly, the flute was elven and the stone was an ancient runestone. When Aldric arrived to find his brother speaking to the group, he became angry and kicked the adventurers out of his home. They had no choice but to speak to the citizens of Rowen to solve their mystery. They began their search at The Crescent Moon. Eladrin owner Sariel Cian explained that the icicle was a Perpetual Icicle - being from the Petrified Forest, it would not melt. The Petrified Forest was once a living forest, but was frozen eons ago by an angry noble eladrin. Sariel claimed the icicle contained great powers, if used correctly. She directed the adventurers north, to the Petrified Forest, to learn more. Next, they sought out Endra Earthforge, dwarven owner of Endra's Armory. She was able to read the Davek script on the ancient runestone, and explained that it was a memorial to deceased dwarven warrior Rangrim Axeblade. She also warned that dwarves do not part with runestones easily, and that the Axeblade family would want returned what had once been stolen from them. She was confident the group could find the Axeblades in the dwarven city at Mount Mali. Endra directed the group to The Guilded Rest, an inn owned by half-elf Laila Mandrax. Laila was more than happy to speak of the elven part of her heritage, and even played a simple tune on the flute. She declared it beautiful and said it was clearly hand-crafted, likely in the elven encampment of Zhanasburg. She hinted that it was likely very valuable, to elven musicians and artisans or even just those who revere elven artwork. Finally, the group found Tomas Tennon, High Priest of the Sunburst Temple, who they were told had lived in the Siri Desert for many years. He examined the yellow flower and confirmed that it was a desert rose, a very rare and much valued item, especially for potion-making. He seemed sure that the flower had some sort of enchantment on it, seeing as it had been locked in a chest for quite some time without ever having wilted. Satisfied with what they had accomplished, the adventurers headed to the Mugwump Inn for the night, with plans to go to Mount Mali the following day. Next